Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a play written by the American playwright Robert E. Sherwood in 1938, based principally on the 1926 biography Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years by Carl Sandburg. The play, in three acts, covers the life of President Abraham Lincoln from his childhood through his final speech in Illinois before he left for Washington. The play also covers his romance with Mary Todd and his debates with Stephen A. Douglas, and uses Lincoln's own words in some scenes. Sherwood received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1939 for his work.
Productions
The play premiered on Broadway on October 15, 1938, at the Plymouth Theatre and closed in December 1939 after 472 performances. Directed by Elmer Rice, it starred Raymond Massey as Lincoln, Muriel Kirkland (Mary Todd), Adele Longmire (Ann Rutledge), and Albert Phillips (Stephen A. Douglas). It subsequently transferred to the Grand Opera House in Chicago where it ran for 12 weeks from January 8 through March 30, 1940. Massey's role in the play came about as the result of a promise he had made to Sherwood six years previously to "be there when he needed me". A second revival took place in 1993 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, with Sam Waterston as Lincoln, and direction by Gerald Gutierrez. The cast included Robert Westenberg (Ninian Edwards), Marissa Chibas (Ann Rutledge), David Huddleston (Judge Bowling Green), Robert Joy (Joshua Speed), Lizbeth MacKay (Mary Todd) and Brian Reddy (Stephen A. Douglas). The revival ran from November 29, 1993, to January 2, 1994.
Overview and synopsis
The play takes place in and around New Salem, Illinois, in the 1830s, then in Springfield, Illinois, in the 1840s, and in Act III in Springfield in 1858 to 1861. It is based principally on the 1926 biography Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years by Carl Sandburg, which covers Lincoln's life up to his inauguration as president. The play depicts Lincoln's evolution from unambitious backwoodsman to a champion of freedom, and relies on the audience's knowledge of Lincoln's subsequent career to color the portrayal of his character. Sherwood wrote the play as a riposte to isolationist sentiment in the United States in the lead-up to the Second World War; he had fought in the First World War but had been disappointed by the way the post-war world had turned out. As its star Raymond Massey put it, "If you substitute the word dictatorship for the word slavery throughout Sherwood's script, it becomes electric with meaning for our time."
While much of the dialog is of Sherwood's invention, the play uses some of Lincoln's own words at various points. Lincoln is portrayed not as a saint or a fount of wisdom, but as a humble man of ideas who constantly questions himself and his ability to make a difference. He is haunted by premonitions of death and disaster, prefiguring the bloodshed of the American Civil War and his own assassination. Ann Rutledge, the first great love of his life, is portrayed as Lincoln sees her, as a selfless but ultimately unattainable embodiment of female perfection. His wife Mary, by contrast, is portrayed with an increasingly sharp edge that foreshadows her descent into insanity. Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln's political opponent in 1858, is portrayed as an adept politician rather than as a villain.
Act I
The opening scene of the play depicts New Salem's schoolmaster teaching grammar to Lincoln and encouraging him to appreciate poetry and oratory. Lincoln speaks of his life, referring to his failures as a businessman, his fear of city people and the death of his mother, and expresses his appreciation of John Keats's poem On Death.
The wedding is set to take place in Scene 6 but Lincoln has developed cold feet. A friend tries to persuade him not to cancel it, and Mary's brother-in-law advises him to "keep a tight rein" on her ambition for him to become president. Lincoln's clerk applauds his betrothal to someone who will push him to fight for the freedom of the slaves. Lincoln himself decides that his ambitions lie elsewhere, cancels the wedding and leaves Springfield.
The 1860 presidential election is the focus of Scene 11, in which Lincoln and Mary await the election results. By now they are quarreling openly. She tells him that even if he wins, "it's ruined, for me. It's too late." Lincoln does win but regrets having had to fight "the dirtiest campaign in the history of corrupt politics." As he leaves home with a Secret Service escort, he feels the full weight of his responsibilities.
There were six television adaptations in all, in 1945, 1950, 1951, 1957, 1963 and 1964. Massey reprised his stage role in the 1950 and 1951 adaptations. The 1964 production in the Hallmark Hall of Fame series featured Jason Robards in the title role, and Kate Reid as Mary Todd.
There was an adaptation of the play for Australian radio in 1946 starring Peter Finch as Lincoln.
Critical response
thumb|Flyer for the play's Chicago run, 1940
The play was critically acclaimed for its original 1938 run. The Herald Tribune's reviewer, Richard Watts Jr., called it "Not only the finest of modern stage biographies, but a lovely, eloquent, endearing tribute to all that is best in the spirit of democracy." The critic Brooks Atkinson called it Sherwood's "finest play" and commended it for furthering "the principles of American liberty" while still providing an honest presentation of Lincoln's formative years. It was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1939 by a majority vote of the prize jury, with the supporting jurors describing it as "a competent play by an experienced dramatist, with the chief figure movingly presented, with the minor characters done adequately and adroitly." Many critics highlighted Massey's performance for praise; his preparation was so meticulous and obsessive that the critic George S. Kaufman suggested that he would not be satisfied until he was assassinated.
The 1993 revival was less positively received than its predecessors. The original had been seen as ground-breaking and complex, but by 1990s standards it was viewed as too long and outdated. Some critics praised its sweep and Sam Waterston's performance, but others, like David Richards of The New York Times, felt it was too "didactic or melodramatic". Linda Winer suggested that the TV miniseries had taken over as audiences' preferred format for such historical or biographical dramas.
- 1994 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Play Revival nominee
- 1994 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Waterston) nominee
- 1994 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play nominee
- 1994 Tony Award, Best Actor in Play (Waterston) nominee
- 1994 Tony Award, Best Direction of a Play (Gerald Gutierrez) nominee